Trump threatens takeover of Washington, D.C., with National Guard to fight crime
"We have a capital that's very unsafe," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We have to run D.C. This has to be the best-run place in the country."
Trump, who has threatened a federal takeover of the city multiple times, renewed those threats after a young staffer who was part of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted over the weekend.
Musk, the billionaire former adviser to Trump who once spearheaded the DOGE effort, said the man was beaten and received a concussion. "It is time to federalize DC," he wrote.
Asked if he was considering taking over the D.C. police, Trump responded affirmatively.
"We just almost lost a young man, beautiful handsome guy that got the hell knocked out of him," Trump said.
The president posted a picture of the victim, Edward Coristine, known by the nickname "Big Balls," on social media, with blood on his face, arms, torso and legs.
"We're going to beautify the city. We're going to make it beautiful. And what a shame, the rate of crime, the rate of muggings, killings and everything else. We're not going to let it. And that includes bringing in the National Guard, maybe very quickly, too," Trump said.
A spokesman for D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser declined to comment.
Violent crime in the first seven months of 2025 was down by 26% in D.C. compared to last year while overall crime was down about 7%, according to records on the police department's website.
Overall crime was down 15% in 2024, compared to 2023, the website showed.
The District of Columbia was established in 1790 with land from neighboring Virginia and Maryland. Congress has control of its budget, but resident voters elect a mayor and city council, thanks to a law known as the Home Rule Act. For Trump to take over the city, Congress likely would have to pass a law revoking that act, which Trump would have to sign.
The president said on Wednesday that lawyers were already looking at overturning the Home Rule Act.
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Alan Dershowitz once again denied pierogi as Martha's Vineyard residents chant ‘time to go'
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'As I correctly suspected, the bigot who refused to sell me perogi — Krem Miskevich — is a notorious anti-semite who is part of an anti-semitic organization that protests Jewish — not only Israeli— cultural events and doesn't believe in Israel's right to exist or to respond to what these haters regard as the 'justified' massacres of Oct 7,' he posted on Monday, adding: 'Don't patronize anti-semites who refuse to sell to Jewish Zionists.' Miskevich, who uses they/them pronouns, has yet to speak to the press about the kerfuffle but did post on Good Pierogi's Instagram account a lengthy response to Dershowitz's accusations and what sparked the incident last week. Miskevich, who co-owns Good Pierogi with their spouse Lily Rose, said they 'experienced a surge of emotion' when Dershowitz appeared at their tent last week because he's represented and befriended 'several sexual predators and abusers including Jeffrey Epstein.' 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